Pediheart: Pediatric Cardiology Today

Latest Episodes:

Pediheart Podcast #249 Replay: Impact Of BMI On Clinical Outcomes In The Adult Fontan Patient Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

This week we review an episode from 3 years back and delve into the world of adult congenital heart disease when we review a recent work from the ACHD team at UCSF that assesses the impact of BMI on clinical outcomes in the single ventricle adult Fontan patient. What is the cause of elevation in BMI in some Fontan patients? Is obesity the only explanation? Is BMI a modifiable risk factor for our Fontan patients and should exercise be 'prescribed' for these patients? If so prescribed, what type of exercise is best for the Fontan patient? This week's work's senior author, Dr. Anushree Agarwal, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCSF, shares her insights into this important topic.
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.122.026732
Also mentioned in today's episode is episode #222 with Dr. Dan Halpern of NYU medical center (https://www.stitcher.com/show/pediheartpediatric-cardiology-today/episode/pediheart-podcast-222-impact-of-cardiac-rehab-on-exercise-tolerance-in-the-achd-patient-206781483)

Pediheart Podcast #358: An Approach To Gender Disparities In Pediatric Cardiology Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a recent work from the "Women In Pediatric Cardiology" group which is a 4 year old initiative to help lift up women pediatric cardiologists through the fostering of connections and also via mentorship programs. Why did this program develop and what are the most pressing issues affecting female pediatric cardiologists? What are the best solutions to help address gender inequities in our field? We speak with two co-authors of this week's work, Drs. Sarah Ford of Brown University and Kristin Laraja of University of Massachussetts. For those interested in participating in their work, feel free to email Pediheart@gmail.com and your information will be passed along to the authors.

DOI: 10.1007/s00246-024-03576-9

Pediheart Podcast #357: Maintenance Immunosuppression Following Heart Transplantation In Children Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a recent multicenter, randomized trial pitting 2 different immunosuppressive therapeutic approaches against each other. How did a novel approach of everolimus + low dose tacrolimus compare to more standard MMF + standard, higher dose tacrolimus in avoidance of major adverse transplant events or complications? How did this first ever prospective trial in the pediatric heart transplantation world start and how difficult was it to perform in the absence of corporate or NIH support? Why can these data help inform FDA labelling for this novel approach and why is this important? Dr. Kevin Daly of Boston Children's Hospital shares his deep insights into this work this week!

DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.14338

Pediheart Podcast #356: Alpha Blockade Following Congenital Heart Surgery Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a recent report of the use of phenoxybenzamine for the reduction of SVR in children undergoing congenital heart surgery in India. How does this agent work and what might be the advantage versus other agents like nitroprusside or milrinone which are more commonly used? How does the cost of this agent (or phentolamine) compare with newer agents? We speak with Dr. Rohit Loomba of Lurie Children's Hospital. For those interested, in addition to working as a critical care cardiologist, Dr. Loomba is also a noted cardiac morphologist and his wonderful videos can be seen at the following web address:
https://www.youtube.com/@Talking_Hearts
Today's paper:
DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_868_25

Pediheart Podcast Replay #276: Postoperative Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia Following Congenital Heart Surgery Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

This week we replay an episode from 2 years ago on postoperative ectopic atrial tachycardia (EAT) following congenital heart surgery in children. Are there risk factors for this arrhythmia and are any modifiable? What is the 'go to' therapy used by the electrophysiologists at Children's LA for the acute and chronic treatment of this arrhythmia in the postoperative period? Is the presence of EAT in a postoperative congenital heart patient a marker for a worse outcome? These are amongst the questions posed to Children's of Los Angeles pediatric electrophysiologist, Dr. Jonathan Uniat.
· DOI: 10.1007/s00246-022-03068-8

Pediheart Podcast #355: Myocardial Infarction Following Kawasaki Disease Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a recent report from the Boston Children's team on their 39 year experience managing and caring for children with myocardial infarction following Kawasaki disease (KD). What were the clinical features of KD patients that were most associated with this rare complication? What signs or symptoms should be concerning for the caregiver of patients with KD? What are the more common approaches to the management of MI in this fragile and young patient population? Dr. Sunil Ghelani of Boston Children's Hospital offers the answers this week.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114638

Pediheart Podcast #354: Neurocognitive Dysfunction In Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a landmark paper that came out this month on the topic of ACHD. How common is neurocognitive dysfunction amongst the ACHD patient population? What factors are associated with worse or better such outcomes? What interventions should be considered to mitigate these issues? What is the relationship between mental illness and neurocognitive dysfunction? Dr. Scott Cohen of The Medical College of Wisconsin and Dr. Ali Zaidi of The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai share their insights into their recent multicenter study.
doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2025.06.051
Also featured after the article is a brief description of the upcoming Mount Sinai ACHD Conference called: Kawasaki Disease Across The Ages: From Childhood Onset To Adult Outcomes - The 4th Mount SInai ACHD Symposium. We speak with Dr. Nadine Choueiter who is the Course Director of this conference about the goals and objectives of the conference. Dr. Zaidi is the course co-director. For those interested in signing up, please go to this webpage:
https://physicians.mountsinai.org/news/register-today-for-the-fourth-annual-mount-sinai-adult-congenital-heart-disease-symposium

Pediheart Podcast #353: A Conversation With Interventional Cardiology Legend Dr. Terry King Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

This year is the 50th anniversary of the first transcatheter ASD closure in a human. To celebrate this achievement, this week we air a live interview from PICS 2025 in Chicago (conducted 8/26/25) with living interventional cardiology legend Dr. Terry King speaking about the events surrounding his landmark intervention as the first person to ever perform a transcatheter ASD closure with his partner, surgeon Dr. Noel Mills. In this one on one interview, Dr. King discusses how he came up with this idea with Dr. Mills and how he found a patient in which to proceed. He reviews what 'informed consent' was in 1975 and also how he and Dr. Mills accurately estimated ASD size in an era that preceded 2D echocardiography. Dr. King speaks about the role of family in his life and offers advice to the next generation. Finally, he shares with us what he is up to today and why he does not believe in retirement. Prepare to be excited and inspired by this wonderful figure in our field.

Pediheart Podcast #352: Understanding The Factors Influencing The Choice To Pursue ACHD As A Career Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

This week we review a recent work addressing the growing mismatch between the numbers of ACHD patients and the numbers of well trained ACHD providers. What are the most important factors influencing trainees' decisions regarding the pursuit of a career in ACHD? How can more young people be influenced to pursue this fascinating and growing field? We speak with Dr. Katia Bravo-Jaimes of The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FLA about a recent survey study she conducted on the factors that influenced these important decisions. Dr. Bravo-Jaimes shares her thoughts on solutions to increase the ACHD workforce.
https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.125.041276

Pediheart Podcast Replay #258: The Effects Of Race And Insurance Status On Waitlist Outcomes In Pediatric Heart Transplantation Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

In this week's replay episode from 3 years ago, we delve into the world of pediatric heart transplantation and the impact that race or insurance status may have on outcomes. What are the factors that explain worse outcomes for black children waiting for a heart transplant? How is the PHTS Racial Disparity Taskforce working to reduce inequities in this field? What role does insurance status have on these outcomes? We speak with noted heart failure and transplantation expert, Dr. Neha Bansal who is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai about this recent PHTS multicenter study.

DOI: 10.1016/j.healun.2022.12.002

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